Friday, October 14, 2011

Pay It Forward Blogfest AND Author Spotlight with Ciara Knight!

Two great tastes that taste great together. Yep, I'm smashing two posts into one. I couldn't pass up the Pay It Forward Blogfest because it's 99.9% pure extract of righteousness.

I'm always plugging my buddies Laura, Deb, Sarah, and more recently, Julie. But I would love it if you could get to know these other gals a little better. You won't be sorry!

Krispy/Alz at a Nudge in the Right Direction. Kooky stick drawings? No-holds barred book reviews that will make you spew soda out of your nose? Little bits of culture/food/whatever that are always entertaining? They've got it all. I love them. Cyber hugs to my girls.

Olga at Artful Nuance.I am NEVER disappointed when I visit Olga's blog. She is an artist, and her photography always takes my breath away. Can red be made to look any redder in a picture? I don't know how, but Olga always does it. She's thoughtful, introspective, and a wonderful person.

Rachna Chabria at Rachna's Scriptorium.Rachna has the kind of blog about writing where you want to pull up a chair, grab a steaming mug of chai, hang out and talk with her forever. She tackles all things writing-related with depth, gentleness, and yet a keenly sharp eye. She always gets me thinking.

There you go. Meet this ladies. You won't regret it! Thanks Alex and Matthew for hosting the blogfest!

Okay, now on to our Author Spotlight. Please welcome the lovely Ciara Knight!

How do you plot, if you’re a plotter, and how do you revise?

I have a strange writing process but it’s what works for me. I will brainstorm while driving or hiking because I can’t stand looking at a blank page without a story. It’s too intimidating. After I have the entire plot worked out in my head, I’ll write an outline. This will include setting, who’s POV (If writing multiple), goal, conflict, motivation, and disaster. Then I’ll open up a word document, close my eyes, and type like a crazy person. This is my rough draft that no one should ever see. After that, I’ll go through and just clean it up. At this point it is more of an extended plotline with dialogue. The third pass I’ll start layering more emotion, internal thought, ect…. I’ll usually send this version to critique partners. Once it is back in my hands, I’ll incorporate their changes and clean up sentence structure, repetitive words, etc…. Then it is ready to see the light of day.

How do you manage to do so much in 24 hours?

Caffeine. Seriously, I’ve always been a workaholic. In college I worked full time, went to school full time, and worked on a scholarship project. I’d work all week from 5:00AM – 11:00PM then sleep all weekend. I still do this. Caffeine up all week then crash and sleep in on Saturday morning. With three boys in the house, I know there won’t be any writing that day.

(OMG, this has become my new schedule too! Saturday morning sleep-ins are kind of sacred at my house now. :) )

Is there a different genre you might like to try and write someday?

I’d love to write sci-fi but I’m way too intimidated. I’ve always been in love with all things not of this world. Maybe one day I’ll give it a shot, but right now, I think I should keep my feet firmly grounded.

Favorite season of the year?

Fall! I’m a diehard hiker and there is no better time to hike in the southeast then in the fall. The sound of leaves crunching under foot, brisk air carrying the sounds of birds flying south for the winter, and the fact people aren’t so cranky now that the heat wave has ended, makes fall a fantastic time of year.

Sammy Lorre was cast from Heaven for conduct unbecoming an angel. Living in a demon-infested small town with no memory of her previous life, she faces never-ending purgatory until Boon saunters into her life with a promise of angelic love. But is he an angel from Heaven or a minion from the underworld preying on her human emotions? To discover his true identity, she must risk eternal damnation and her heart.

I jumped off to go "fix" me not following LBD, and then I remembered why I'm not following LBD... where is her button? Manual input to Reader... but I almost didn't come back to say Whoot to Ciara! I've been seeing her around, and here's wishing her all the best~ :o) <3

Hey Lydia! Thanks for coming by, commenting, and following me! I really appreciate that! It's nice to get to know you a little better. I loved our pukey hamburger soup exchange the other day on Twitter. That was fun. But it was just too gross! Well, anyway, thanks for sharing your friends with us. I'll be checking them out.

Good idea to combine the blog hop with a guest. I should have done the same.

Ciara, it's always fascinating to read about other writer's processes because everyone is so different. I enjoy hiking too. We have spring down this end of the world, but I have to admit that autumn is a great time to explore.

Ciara, your hiking to think reminds me of Mary Oliver. In an interview I just read about her (O Magazine) she says something to the effect that if the people in her town see her walking in the woods, then stopping to write something down, they know it's been a good walk for Mary.

Lydia: you're one of my 3 blog mentions for the bloghop, which I joined at the last minute because of you. Thank you!

Looks like you picked some really great ones, can't wait to go check them out. And the author interview (and her book, Love's Long Shadow) was very interesting. The book seems like it's right up my alley :) Thanks for the rec!Following you,Ninja Girl

Hello there,Thank you so much for stopping by my blog via the PIF Blogfest. It's good to "meet" you. I think your blog is great. It is a great way of meeting people in the same boat. So "hi" and I'll pop by as often as possible :)Eve :)

Whoa! It was a loong scroll to the bottom of the comments to get here. Sorry I missed it Friday, but thanks so much for the interview and for those great blogs you mentioned. I'll be checking them out.

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